Into the Wasteland
by sonicstorm96
Summary: Douglas was always the class prankster, head over heels in love in the Overseer's daughter. But when his dad leaves the vault and shatters the thin illusion of security, he's left with no choice but to leave the vault and find him. However, an act of kindness ends in bad luck and he is no longer the Lone Wanderer.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello. This is my very first fanfic and I have no idea if it's any good but I certainly hope is. I know I'm bit late on the Fallout 3 Fanfic train**

**but I've been playing it religiously lately and felt the urge to write after reading The Wandering Pair (Amazing story by the way, if you're reading this.) I hoped I conveyed the personalities somewhat decently. Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout or any of the characters that are associated with it. **

"Come on, let's go get some lunch." Amata Almovador said as she walked out of the room. Quickly, Douglas followed Amata as she left the room. They walked mostly in silence, as they thought about their test results. Amata was clearly happy with her test results while Douglas got stuck with a job most teenagers and their parents dreaded. Amata had joked that if he became the Vault's Chaplain then she was the Messiah herself. Douglas had joked that it was more likely she to be a demon and she had punched him playfully in the arm.

"So, what did you think of question 10?" Douglas asked cautiously. Amata sighed with exasperation but continued on to the cafeteria.

"My father has a big ego. You did too, when you got that BB gun." Amata argued in defense of her father. Douglas shrugged and didn't say anything more on the subject. Sure, when he first got his BB gun, he had become the self-declared big game hunter. But he didn't act like he was God's incarnate sent to the earth. Of course, he stopped declaring himself the big game hunter when Butch broke his gun during a Hunt the Mutant game two months later. Sure, James and Jonas managed to fix it easily, but Douglas' ego had a permanent downsize. Amata began to giggle and Douglas looked around to see what was so funny. When he saw nothing, he raised an obvious eyebrow in her direction.

"Butch is a hair stylist." She laughed. He cracked a smile as well, remembering how angry Butch had been when Mr. Brotch had called Butch a hair dresser. Of course, being a 'waste management specialist' wasn't exactly a job he could run into anyone's face either. As Amata continued onto the cafeteria, Douglas reached in his pocket and pulled out the Medicine bobble head that he took from his dad's office. His dad had given it to him, saying that it would give him luck during his G.O.A.T. but he hoped the luck would go to something else instead.

"Hey Amata, I want to ask you something." Douglas said, stopping as they reached the flight of stairs that led down. She stopped and looked back as he bopped the bobble head with nervousness. "So, remember last year when you thought Christine and I were…..dating?" Of course, dating was just nicer way of saying what was really said. Christine had been stuck with the reputation of promiscuity by the Tunnel Snakes and everyone seemed to believe if it was the opposite sex, she had tried to bed it.

"Yeah. I got mad and slapped you." She smiled sheepishly as she remembered her over reaction.

"Why did you freak out so much?" He asked. Amata blushed and looked away. At the time she had used the excuse that it was irresponsible and stupid for him to do something so foolish at such a young age. Yet, he had always suspected an ulterior motive. When she repeated her excuse from a year ago, Douglas couldn't help but say: "Are you sure?" She rounded on him, her eyes attempting to look angry though her bright red face said something different.

"What else would there be?" She demanded to know.

"Well, you know, you always seem to be angry with me when someone suggests I'm seeing someone." Douglas pointed out. Amata blushed again and looked down the stair case.

"What? I can't be worried for a friend?" She asked, though she refused to look in his direction. Douglas was silent as he realized how embarrassed he had made Amata. He was about to tell her to forget it when she asked: "Why do you ask?"

"Oh…well…" It was his turn to blush uncontrollably. "I suppose it wouldn't be entirely crazy to…..consider that you might…..well, maybe it is." He stuttered out as he tried to get through his cowardice and embarrassment. The Overseer's daughter turned and she smiled as she saw him almost completely pink. "Um, I must be really hungry. I can't think straight." He made up as he saw he amused smile. He hurried past her and began down the stairs as he became desperate to escape the situation. Amata saw his escape attempt and chased him, though he moved faster down the stairs than she could have. As he exited on the lower levels, he was met with a "Tunnel Snakes rule!" as a fist smashed into his face.

He fell to the floor and immediately, the three Tunnel Snakes were on him, kicking and hitting him as he lay on the floor. They were still angry about the assortment of bruises and cuts they had gotten earlier when they fought with Douglas the first time. Then they just had the advantage of numbers and Douglas had still fended them off. Now, they had surprise and numbers, which meant Douglas didn't stand a chance. Amata had just reached the second set of stairs when she saw what was happening. She looked around and saw that Stanley had left his toolbox behind once more. She grabbed a wrench from the toolbox and practically leapt down the stairs. Butch turned to see who was coming down the stair and Amata swung with all her strength. The Overseer's daughter caught the Tunnel Snake across the left cheek. Luckily for Butch, she managed not to break any of his bones but the force of the hit sent him stumbling into the wall. Wally Mack and Freddie Gomez turned in surprise and she raised the wrench in a threat. Scared by the fact that they had just witnessed their leader brought down with a single hit, they backed away. Butch was leaning against the wall, nursing the bright red wound across the cheek. She went over and checked Douglas, seeing that he had been knocked unconscious. She reached down and lifted him by his left arm. Despite the fact he weighed almost twice as much as her, she managed to drape his arm over his shoulder and began to carry him up the stairs. The last thing she heard from Butch was "Bitch."

Douglas woke up and his head pounded with immense pain. With a shot of pain with each throb, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was met with the familiar sight of his room and a figure standing in the doorway. His vision was blurry so he couldn't quite make out who it was but he could tell that it was a she. He was able to take an accurate guess after that. "What happened?" He asked Amata as she watched him wake up.

"As Butch would put it, 'you got knocked the fuck out!'" She answered as she crossed the room. Each one of her words stung like a needle directly to the brain. As he reached up to hold his head, she grimaced. "Yeah, your dad said that you had a concussion. He said you need to rest up until you feel better. I just came by because you dropped your hat." She picked up his pre-war baseball cap to show him that she had gotten it from where it had fallen when he was ambushed. She turned to leave once more, when she stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.

"It wasn't because of why I said. Well, not mostly." She admitted.

"What?"

"When I was mad about Christine. It wasn't mainly about me worrying about your idiotic decision at that age." Amata reminded. "I'm sure you know what it was about." Douglas smiled as he finally came to the conclusion she wanted him too. His headache seemed like a simple pin prick in the back of his mind.

"Well, what are we going to do about this new information?" He asked with an elated voice. She turned and gave him a smile that made his chest flutter.

"Get better and we'll talk about it." And then she was gone.


	2. Escape!

**Well, here it is. Chapter 2. I changed a few things from the actual storyline and I hope it makes it better in the long run. **

Amata waited in her room as the alarms continued to sound. Her father had told her to stay put and refused to explain anything to her. Normally, she would have continued to riddle him with questions but the look on his face was pure fury. So she quietly obeyed and was now waiting. But her curiosity was getting the better of her. Every few seconds she found herself closer and closer to the door until she eventually was walking out and looking around. She pulled the bobby pin from her hair and knelt near her father's office door and went to work at picking the lock. She'd gotten good at the art when her father kept grounding her for going into the closed sections of the vault and would lock her in her room. Of course, she always picked the lock and continued dragging Douglas back there.

Just as she was about to open the lock, she heard rush of feet outside of the door. Thinking fast, she quickly ran into living room and tucked herself behind the sofa, just out of sight of her father. She hoped he wasn't coming to check on her otherwise it would be obvious that she was no longer in her room. Just as she situated herself comfortably into the hiding spot, her father rushed in. A second later, three guards followed with a shape in between. They threw the person into the chair at the desk near the entrance to her father's office, and the Overseer began a calm pace that he always did when he was interrogating someone.

"Why did you let James out?" He demanded to know. When the man said nothing, Alphonse motioned to one of the guards, one she recognized as Officer Mack. Mack nodded, then raised his police baton and brought it down on the shape. Amata covered her mouth to keep her surprised gasp from being heard. The man let out a pained grunt and doubled over in pain. "Do I have to repeat myself Jonas?" _Jonas? Why was her father torturing Jonas?_

"Not everyone is afraid of you, Alphonse." Jonas replied calmly.

"I should have known that assigning you to be James' assistant was asking for insubordination to breed. I had hoped it would have to opposite effect. Now, tell me why James left the Vault?" Her father answered. _James left the vault? What the hell is going on? _When Jonas didn't answer, the Overseer motioned to Officer Mack once more. Another raise of the club and another grunt of pain. Amata was forced to watch in silence as the interrogation turned more into a torture routine. When Mack hit Jonas for a fifth time, he didn't stop until Jonas was limp against the floor. Officer Gomez, which she recognized second, took a step back as he watched beat Jonas to death, a green tint across his face. Horror flashed across his eyes.

"Nice going Mack, you killed him." The officer next to Mack muttered. "How are we supposed to get what we need now?" The Overseer scratched his chin in thought and he nodded when he reached a conclusion.

"Get James' son. James told the boy everything. He'll know." Amata's eyes widened as she realized they meant Douglas. She looked at Jonas' limp form and imagined her boyfriend in the place of Jonas. A second later, she was sprinting from the room with her father's yelled protests behind her.

Douglas was dancing the Irish clog dance while Amata laughed in the corner when she suddenly yelled: "Get up!" The dream grew dark and he was met with an irritable alarm noise. He slowly pried open one eye and looked sleepily at Amata as she stood over him. He turned his back to her and groggily said:

"Leave me alone. I'm trying to sleep." He had just got comfortable once more when he felt her grab the back of his vault suit and pull him from the bed. He landed on the metal floor with a yelp and looked up at her, the shock having woken him up fully.

"Come on, you have to wake up!" She pleaded with him.

"How weird, I was just dreaming about you." He joked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Now's not the time to be a smart-mouth! This is serious!" Amata practically yelled as her face grew more panicked. "My father's men are looking for you! They've already killed Jonas, and you've got to get out of here!"

"….What?" Douglas felt his mind swarm with multitude of questions. "Jonas is…..dead? What the hell's going on?"

"It's your dad, he's left the vault!"

"What do you mean? What's going on?" Douglas demanded to know as he jumped to his feet.

"My father thinks Jonas helped your dad escape, so he had his men...My god, they killed him... they just beat him and beat him and wouldn't stop... Mack was out of control. He just didn't stop. And my father….my father just let him." Amata's tears fell down her face as she was finally forced to confront what she had witnessed. Douglas immediate action was to comfort her with a hug and asking her:

"Oh my god….Are you okay?" After a few seconds of this, she finally pulled away and nodded as she wiped her tears away.

"Don't' worry about me. I'm just…..I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I know that Jonas was your friend." He couldn't but nod as he silently mourned Jonas' loss. A thousand thoughts swarmed through his mind as he tried to make sense of what Amata was telling him. _Jonas was dead. Dad was gone. What….what is happening? Why did he leave? How did he leave?_ A thousand more what, why and how's flew threw his mind before Amata snapped him back to reality.

"We have to go now. My father's men will be here any second." She told him. He nodded and reached under his bed where he kept an old duffel bag he found in the closed off sections of the vault. It was the same color of their jumpsuits with a large 101 on the bottom. He quickly walked over to the desk where he kept all his memorability and began to shovel it in.

"Look, I know it's none of my business but your dad didn't tell you anything?" The Overseer's daughter asked as he shoveled his baseball glove and bat into the bag.

"No. I had no idea what he was planning." Douglas said as he moved over to his drawers. He opened it and began to stuff all his clean vault suits into the bag.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sure he had his reasons. Maybe Jonas was supposed to explain everything to you?" She offered in a small gesture of comfort. "But it doesn't matter. I can help you escape. I have my own plan." Despite the situation, Douglas couldn't help but crack a smile and say teasingly:

"Not another one of your plans, Amata." Douglas joked as he threw his last Vault suit into the duffel bag. The last thing he pulled from the drawer was his pre-war cap, tucking it firmly on his head. Amata ignored his comment and walked over to wait in the door frame.

"Listen. There's a secret tunnel that leads directly from my father's office to the exit. You'll have to hack the computer. Use these to get into his office. It's how I always get in." She handed him some of the bobby pins she had used to put up her hair. Her hair sloped down a little but still held it composure with the remaining three bobby pins left in her hair. Grabbing his baseball bat and throwing his duffel bag over his shoulder, he gave one last smile to the Overseer's daughter.

"Sounds like a good plan. Let's get out of here." As they left the single bedroom apartment, Douglas stopped and grabbed the first aid kit from the wall. If he was really going into the wastes after his father, he doubted he would get through the entire wastes unscathed. His father had always kept the first aid kit fully stocked due to Douglas' nature of constantly fighting with the Tunnel Snakes. When he hurried out, he found Amata hugging the wall near the exit. She put a hand to her lips and beckoned him over.

"Officer Kendall is coming." She warned. Douglas peeked out and saw the officer advancing towards his apartment, his police baton out and a determined look on his face. Thankfully as he passed the intersection, a large group of radroaches suddenly swarmed him.

"Criminey! More roaches!" He called as he batted the first one out the air with a well- placed swing. A plan hit Amata as the roaches forced Officer Kendall to back away from the room.

"Okay. I'll try to meet you at the exit. Watch out for the other security." She told him. Then, before Douglas could protest any rash actions, she sprinted out and began to taunt the security officer as he battled the three remained roaches. Kendall stomped one of the roaches and bashed the torso of another. Then, he kicked the last roach against the wall and trained his sights on Amata. She saw the glare he gave her and sprinted away, causing the security officer to chase after her. He cursed Amata for her recklessness and praised her for her quick thinking at the same time. Then with a final worried thought in her direction, he ran forward and turned in the opposite direction of where his girlfriend had led Officer Kendall.

He smashed into Butch, sending both of the teenage boys to the ground. _I don't have time to deal with this. _He quickly stood up and readied his bat in an attempt to scare Butch away. However, instead of Butch's normal reaction whenever they bumped into each other, he was met with a face full of hope and panic. "You gotta help me! My mom's in there with the radroaches!" He practically begged as he jumped up. It took a few seconds before Douglas realized that Butch wasn't about to throw a few punches and then he could help but let out a dry laugh at the situation.

"Butch Deloria, the mighty leader of Tunnel Snakes, asking me for help? If only you understood what irony meant Butch." Douglas said as he held out a hand to help Butch up. Butch took it and when he was on his feet, his face put on his normal façade and said:

"Yeah, I'm asking you for help. So what?" His face dropped the prideful look and he put a face of shame. "Look, I'm sorry for the way I've always treated you. You know I never meant any of it, right? But it's my mom. You can't leave her in there with the radroaches."

"Why do you need my help anyway? Afraid of a few roaches?" Douglas asked with growing impatience. It was only a matter of time before another officer stumbled across him and this time, Amata wasn't here to create another quick plan. When Butch just bashfully stared at the ground, Douglas sighed with exasperation. "Alright. I'll help. But I'm doing this for your mom, not you."

"Sure, I don't care why. Just get her out of there!" Butch sprinted off after saying that, leaving Douglas to hastily follow him. When he arrived at the Deloria's apartment, he saw that it was torn apart, with various objects thrown about. A screaming came from the bedroom and Douglas quickly ran in, leaving Butch at the door. The roaches were easy to deal with, the only problem was trying to avoid Ellen Deloria with each swing of the bat. When all the roaches were nothing but overly large squashed bugs, Ellen Deloria stood up and immediately began searching for the nearest drink. Butch ran in when he realized all the roaches were dead, his face full of delight and surprise. "We did it! You're the best friend I've ever had, man!" Then he pulled off his jacket and shoved it into his hands. "Hey, I know it isn't much, but I want you to have my Tunnel Snakes jacket. Go ahead, take it." After he forced Douglas to take the leather jacket, he went over to where his mom was raiding the liquor cabinet. As much as he didn't like too, he put on the jacket, realizing that heavy leather would be better that his thin vault suit. Then he ran out of the apartment and continued on his way.

He passed the cafeteria and stopped when say a limp body lying on the floor. It was Grandma Taylor, as everyone called her, although the only person actually related to her was her husband, Officer Taylor. Anger coursed through him and he charged into the room, eviscerating all the roaches standing over her corpse, making sure that every one of them was ripped apart before he moved along. He wished he could move Grandma Taylor from the room and put in a more respectful place but he didn't have any time to spare. He continued from the room, running up the stairs down the hall and to his father's office. Once more, he was met with radroaches. Only this time, they were on fire and attacking the Mister Handy who had destroyed his birthday cake on his tenth birthday. Assisting Andy is wiping out these bugs, was Officer Gomez, the one security guard Douglas ever got along with.

After all the roaches had been turned into a roach steak, Gomez turned to the falsely accused fugitive and his stare hardened. Douglas prepared for a fight, although he honestly wished that it wouldn't come to that. "You're lucky it was me that found you. The others won't be so forgiving. I don't know what you're up to and I don't want to know. Just clear and I'll pretend I never saw you."

"Thanks, Officer Gomez. I've always liked you." Douglas thanked holding his bat in one hand and sticking out the other. Gomez gave a light smile as he took it.

"It's a real shame it's come to this. I can't believe what they did to Jonas…..Officer Mack was just out of control. But you're a good kid. You didn't do anything to deserve this. Go find your dad, if you can." Gomez told him. As he started to walk away, he stopped and looked back at Douglas. Then he came back and held a 10mm pistol up. "I'm hoping you don't have to use this but The Overseer has told the guards that if anyone tries to leave the vault again, to shoot on sight. Please try your best not to find a need for it. And kid. Good luck." With that, he placed the pistol into the reluctant teen's hand and ran in the opposite direction.

"Gomez!" Douglas called before he got too far. The security officer turned and looked at him. "I'll tell them I took it from you by force." With that, Douglas ran into his dad's office, tucking the pistol into the back of his vault suit. The room had been thrown around in what looked like a fit of rage. The desk chair had been thrown across the room and the computer was on floor, the screen cracked. The teenager immediately began to rifle through the random assortment of papers, looking for any clue on where his dad had gone. When he found nothing, Douglas leaned against the wall near his father's framed quote of Revelations 21:6. He felt on the verge of crying but something shiny caught his sight. He looked behind the frame and pulled it off the wall when he was sure what he saw. It was a safe. A safe that not even Douglas knew about. He grabbed the dial and immediately began try to crack the combination. 2-1-6 wasn't the combination which foiled Douglas' first attempt. He then tried three variations on which his dad's birth year was which also proved not to be it. He hit the wall in anger, knowing this safe possibly contained the answer to where his dead was going. Then he thought of something else. He turned the dial to the numbers 7-13-58, his birthday. The safe gave a click and swung open, revealing a holotape and a bag of….bottle caps. Douglas took them both and shoved them into the duffel bag, promising to listen to the holotape later.

He sprinted from the office with Andy calling "Hello good sir!" from behind as he left. He didn't stop to acknowledge Andy, although he wasn't sure if he would ever see the Mister Handy robot again. He continued into the Atrium, stopping just before he reached the main room. He peaked in to see who was talking in the room, afraid he might have heard two more guards. Thankfully, it was only Tom Holden and his wife, Mary. Tom was trying to get Mary to follow him as he tried to leave the vault. Douglas, always having got along with the Holdens ran into the room and made a beeline straight for the stairs. There was a crack and something hit the ground at Douglas' feet. He looked at the two guards who were shooting him, recognizing Officer Richards and Officer O'Brian as the two intent on killing him. Their eyes were that of a feral animal's and they had no mercy or reasoning in them. Both Douglas and the Holdens ran for cover, in opposite directions. The two officers gave no chase to either, merely remaining at their posts. He let a relieved sigh, unsure what he would have done if the two officers had followed him through the broken door, which was held open only by a metal locker.

Douglas continued on, smashing through the roaches as he went. He began to wonder if all the alarms had caused the roaches from deeper within the vault to come to the populated areas. As he ran onto the second floor and into the systems room, he could hear Allen Mack shouting: "You! This is all your fault. You and your stupid father! He had to leave and screw things up for everyone! Guards! Guards! Over here!" He did his best to ignore the man but the words haunted him. Was he really responsible for the death of Grandma Taylor? He was disturbed by the thought that he didn't notice Security Chief Paul Hannon until his police baton connected with the side of Douglas' head. The force sent Douglas against the wall, slamming him painfully against the cold hard metal and causing a small trail of blood to come from his hair. The Security Chief let out a vicious snarl and raised his baton once more. Without thinking, Douglas pulled the 10mm pistol from where he tucked it and put three rounds into the security Chief's chest. Hannon grunted in surprise and fell back, a pool of blood starting to form under him. A wave of nausea hit him and he felt the urge to puke. But he held it down, knowing that he couldn't afford to sit here any longer. But as he continued, the troublesome thought kept coming to him. Was he a murderer?

He couldn't hold his nausea any more, stopping and retching. As he was bent down, he heard: "Be reasonable Amata, Officer Mack may enjoy this but I don't. Just tell us where your friend in so we can talk to him."

""He's my friend and... and I just wanted to help him. I was worried about him. What does he have to do with all of this anyway? He didn't do anything! I swear!" Amata pleaded with her father. Douglas crept towards the door, watching the interrogation through the window. He tucked his pistol into the back of his vault hoping he wouldn't have to use it ever again.

"That's why you need to tell me where he is. So I can talk with him, nothing more." The Overseer promised, lying through his teeth. _Sure, that's why Security Chief Hannon was about to bash my skull in _he though bitterly as he remembered the Security Chief's dead body. Amata knew he was lying because she looked away in defiance.

"One more time Mack." Mack advanced with the police baton raised, a sadistic smile across his lips. He brought the club across her face, causing a yelp of pain from Amata. A fire was lit in Douglas, and before he could stop himself, he was in the room and swinging his baseball back at Mack's head. The Officer was caught by surprise, hitting the floor and sending his baton across the room. The Overseer called for the guards but was met with nothing.

"Amata." The crying girl looked at him with a mixture of surprise and thankfulness. "Go." With that invitation, Amata sprinted from the room and down the hall into her father's room. After Amata was gone, Douglas walked over to the Overseer with a glare on his face. "I'd once thought that there was lines that even you wouldn't cross. I guess I was wrong."

"I hope you're here to turn yourself in, young man. You're already in enough trouble as it is. Don't make things worse for yourself. Or Amata." The Overseer said, the last part being a clear threat to his own daughter's safety. Douglas realized he could try and end this in the most peaceful way possible. He didn't noticed that Mack had retrieved his baton and was waiting for the right moment.

"Fine. Have it your way." Douglas said and handed the man his baseball bat. The moment the Overseer took it, he shouted:

"NOW Mack!" The officer jumped to his feet and ran forward with the baton above his head while the Overseer used his own bat against him. There was a crack and a thud in the events that followed. Mack fell to the floor with a gunshot wound in his neck and Douglas was left with an arm at an awkward angle as he held the gun Gomez had given him to the Overseer's head. The pain was immense where the Overseer had hit him but he refused to let the old man see that. He ripped the bat from the man's grasp with his good arm and gave Alphonse the meanest glare he could summon. Something that was not hard considering the events of his escape.

"I want the password to your terminal." He growled.

"Oh is that all?" He asked in a condescending tone but Douglas could see the fear in his eyes. He knew he would have to go farther.

"You think that I want do it? I killed Paul Hannon and I just killed Steve Mack. Do you truly believe that I wouldn't blow you away right now for your password to the terminal?" He threatened, pressing the warm barrel of the gun against his head. He let out an uneasy gulp and his eyes darted around for an escape. When he found none, he sighed and muttered the name of his only child. Douglas nodded and aimed the gun the down towards the Overseer's knee. "Time for you to retire." He told him before pulling the trigger. The recoil of the gun caused his arm to jerk with white hot pain and his rang with the Overseer's scream of pain. Douglas walked out of the room and swung his bat at the door controls, smashing the locking mechanism. With that, he walked into the Overseer's room and tried to find Amata.


	3. Someone to Watch Over Me

**Right so, I apologize for the last entry's many typos. I did not proof-read very carefully and I regret it. I reread this chapter three times and I hope it does not have as many typos. **

**And number 2, I have introduced an original character. After playing Head of State five separate times and having Hannibal and most of the others die on me, I really hoped I would find a ex-slave who could do more than be helpless, examples being Mei Wong who just waits for a random person to give her money for a gun instead of, you know, strangling the guy in his sleep or something. But anyways, this led to the creation of Frank Sinatra, an ex-slave who took the name of Frank Sinatra in place of her slave name. She will also play a major part in my story from here on out. Hope you like her. **

Jonas was lying dead on the floor, a small puddle of blood on the floor underneath. His glasses were askew and cracked in the right lens. He was sprawled out on the floor, in a twisted and unnatural manner. Douglas felt a tear coming to his eyes as he mourned his friend in the small amount of time he had left, sitting in the chair at her father's desk. A holodisk sat on the desk with a stimpak right next to it, both from Jonas' pockets. As much as he hated stripping things from his dead friend's corpse, it was the only way that he could find a clue to where his father was going. However, he knew he would have to listen to the holotape later, when there weren't people trying to kill him. But as he did his best to create a make-shift sling that would hold his arm up. He heard a sliding of a door and looked up to see Amata emerging from the apartment… with a 10mm pistol in her hands.

"Did you kill my father?" she asked, her voice a mix of so many emotions that Douglas couldn't list them. But the most prominent one was anger.

"No." He said, looking down at Jonas as he answered. "I shot him in the leg, away from any vital veins or arteries." _I showed him mercy, something Jonas didn't get. _

"Why did you shoot him at all!?" She demanded to know, her hands turning white as they gripped the weapon.

"He beat Jonas to death, sent guards to kill me, is ignoring the swarm of roaches that killed Grandma Taylor and almost killed Butch's mom, interrogated his own daughter, broke my arm after I tried to surrender and has generally gone mad with power. Shooting him in the leg was the least I could have done to him." Douglas argued as he finished his sling. He stood up and walked over to her as she lowered the gun down further. Douglas reached into his pocket and produced the bobby pins she had given him earlier. "Can you get your dad's door for me? Mind the pun, but I do kind of need a hand." He smiled weakly as he moved his arm as much as he could without suffering any pain. She nodded silently and took the pins from him, setting the gun on the desk and producing a screwdriver from her pocket. It wasn't more than three seconds later did the office door slide open, revealing a U-like desk with a bunch of computers behind it and four lockers in the far right corner. Douglas grabbed the stuff he'd taken from Jonas and placed them into his pockets.

They both walked into the room, Amata closing the door behind them and locking it. Douglas made his way over to the computer and began to type in the password. Amata took her own route and began to search through the lockers. Both of them found interesting things. "How many bullets do you have in that gun?" She asked, motioning to the pistol at his waist. He looked down and did the math. He fired three shots at the Security Chief, one at Mack and one at the Overseer. That left him seven shots. He relayed this information to her and she nodded, reaching into the lockers once more. She emerged once more with four green boxes which jingled as brass casings clanged together. She put it into his duffel bag, which he had set at his feet. "It's about 120 bullets; you'll need them if you're going out there. What are you looking at?"

"So much for we're born in the vault and die in the vault." He said. "Looks like that the Overseer sent a bunch of people out of the vault before." He pulled the download cable from his pip-boy and plugged it into the Overseer's terminal. He transferred the information to his wrist computer and then hit the button that opened the terminal. The Overseer's desk slowly rose up to the sound of alarms, supported by four slender metal beams. It revealed a staircase that led to a dark tunnel, the sound of radroaches skittering along the floors coming from the room. He held the bat out towards Amata and gave an expectant smile.

"Mind helping a cripple kill a few roaches?"

Douglas emerged into the entrance, seeing the giant cog like door with the letter 101 for the very first time in his nineteen years of life. He walked up to the cog and placed his good hand on the cold metal of the cog. Amata hurried over to the control panel and began to type in the password to open the vault. As she hit the button to pry open the metal cog, a loud alarm blared and caused both of them to flinch at the shrill sound of it. "In here! Someone's trying to escape!" A voice called from the other side of the door. Amata sprinted over and let a big smile escape onto her face, the emotion contrasting wildly with the big, red mark across her face.

"We did it! We opened the door! My God, I almost didn't believe it was possible!" she said as the door slowly slid open.

"Couldn't have done it without your help." He thanked as he moved closer to her.

"No, you could have. If anyone can survive out there it's you." She said, watching as the cog let out an awful screeching noise as it pulled free. There was a bang on the door behind them as the guards attempted to get through the door.

"No, I don't think I could have. Why don't you come with me?" He offered as the cog began to show the narrow tunnel that led to a wooden tunnel. She hesitated, looking away as she considered the offer.

"It's tempting but….my place is here. The vault needs me more than you do. I'm the only one who has a chance to talk some sense into my father." Amata denied with an uneasy look into the tunnel. Douglas scoffed. _It didn't seem to work very well the first time, did it? _He kept his snide comment to himself though. "But when you catch up to your father, tell him I'm sorry. For….you know, Jonas, and my father, and everything. Goodbye." With that, she gave him a parting kiss….just as the metal door opened. Five of the vault security ran in, guns raised and their sights trained on Douglas. He took a step back but he knew that he would stand a chance against the barrage of bullets that was soon to follow. That's when Amata stood in front of him, intending to shield him. "Go Douglas. I'll keep them from firing."

"As solid as that plan is Amata, I have a feeling that isn't going to work very well." Douglas whispered as he saw the guard's hesitation to shoot the Overseer's daughter last only for a few seconds. He didn't wait for her to answer, grabbing her arm and sprinting for the exit. A hail of bullets followed.

Frank waited behind the car as the Slavers passed, leading three slaves between them. An assault rifle's barrel was pointed to the ground as she took one last swig from her silver flask, readying herself for the task in front of her. Her Merc troublemaker outfit helped her blend into the dark background as she slowly climbed onto the car. Then she took aim at the head slaver, smiling as her sights locked onto the man's head. "Hey!" She called from the top of the car. The slaver turned and his face dropped as he saw the assault rifle trained on him. "Smile." With that, a shot rang out and the Slaver's head exploded with the force of the bullet. The other slavers were slow to react and before long, all five were dead on the ground. She scoffed as she realized how easy this was. Normally, they at least got a single shot off.

She hopped down and walked over to where the slaves watched her with fearful eyes, producing a distinct key from one of her pockets. She went over to the first slave, putting the key into the metal collar that she had around her neck. With a click, the collar fell to the floor and shattered as it made contact with ground. She repeated this process with the other two, until they were all free. "Right. Grab the slavers weapons and head to the Temple of Union. Hannibal and the rest of his crew will help you from there. Here, these are the…" She stopped as she realized none of the freed slaves were even listening to here. They were waiting in the exact spot she had freed them, staring at her with fearful eyes. "Shit." Frank muttered as she realized what happened. She looked around as a group of ten slavers emerged from various hiding spots, two of which wielding miniguns.

"We finally got the bitch!" cheered one as he trained a 10mm submachine gun on her. After all the slavers had their sites trained on her, a final slaver emerged from behind semi, a combat shotgun slung across her shoulders. A sadistic smile was across her face as she looked over Frank.

"Well, well, well. Look who we finally caught." She said as she walked up to Frank. "The bitch that's been killing all our men for the past few weeks." She looked over Frank, who had removed her flask from her pocket.

"Carolina Red! The cruelest slaver in all the wasteland!" Frank mockingly said with a forced smile. She took a long swig from her flask before capping it once more. "I heard you that you were easy on the eyes. Well, can't believe everything you hear." That made Carolina smile a little more.

"I love the feisty ones. They're always the best to kill. Fun to watch them break and make them beg." She sighed as she thought about what she would do to Frank, all while gripping the combat shotgun. Frank grimaced and took another swig from her flask. Carolina saw this and swung the hilt of her shotgun, sending the flask from Frank's hand. She laughed as the precious contents flew from the metal container and watered the ground. A clattering sound of metal came from her side, so she turned to look at Frank and only saw the flash of a pistol. The hilt of the pistol collided with her head, springing a leak of blood from her face and spinning her around. Then an arm wrapped around her neck and slammed her into another body. There were three loud cracks right next to her head, causing her ears to ring uncomfortably and throwing her into a state of disarray.

"Never touch my flask." Was the last thing she heard before the woman threw her to the ground. Three more cracks followed then the sound of running feet and returning gunshots.

Frank sprinted past the Springvale elementary school, ignoring a raider took a poor shot at her with a .32 caliber pistol. She kept going, eventually going into the town of the Springvale itself and then taking a right at a T like intersection. The slavers were nothing but a bunch of black dots on the horizon, their numbers now down to six due to the constant firing of Frank and the large number of land mines she had dropped behind her. She kept going, eventually stopping as the road began to slant upwards. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, looking around for somewhere to wait until the slavers had given up their chase, or at least somewhere she could ambush the remainder of the group. That's when she spotted the little tucking of a cave that would be perfect for ambushing anyone that attempted to cross by. It even had a little door she could retreat through if things didn't go as planned. She crawled up to the cliff and tucked herself right between the rocks and the wooden entrance. Reloading her .44 magnum, she waited for the slavers to come, a bullet for each of their names on it.

She waited there for a couple hours, enough for the sun to rise in the distance. She finally relaxed as she realized she had lost them for a while. She pulled out her flask, which she had grabbed just before the slavers had managed to overcome the shock of Carolina Red becoming a human shield. Jiggling the flask, she heard a few drops that were left in the metal container and smiled. _Thank god. _She raised the flask, draining the last of the whiskey that was left in there. That's when the gunshots started. Immediately she raised her gun at got ready to shoot the attackers. But in front of her, she was met with nothing. It was then she realized that the bullets were coming from behind her. She looked at the cave, wondering if she had stumbled upon a cave of raiders and they had gotten into whose gun is the biggest contest. Leaning forward, she intended to look through one of the cracks on the door, the best type of recon she could do without venturing. However, her plans ended short when the door flew open and hit her right in the face.

"Fuck!" she cried and held her nose where the door frame had caught her. It was at an awkward angle and blood poured free of the nose. The gunshots had stopped but they were replaced by an awful, metal-on-metal screeching. She looked up, putting a sleeve on her nose and saw that two teenage kids were collapsed on the floor in front of her. One, the girl, wore a blue jumpsuit with the numbers 101 on the back while the male wore the same jumpsuit with the addition of a heavy leather jacket. Both were soaked in blood, the male coming out worse than the girl. She only had one visible wound while the male had at least three. She sighed and looked around at the town of Megaton. She'd only been there once, but left hastily when she had come into conflict with a former raider. Sighing, wishing that she was someone who didn't believe in Karma, she stood up and grabbed the two jumpsuits of the teens.


	4. Following in his Foosteps

**And here it is people. My fourth chapter. I skipped the initial Moriarty interaction mainly because everyone knows what happens. You either pay him or hack his computer. Anyways, I spent more time on this chapter because I had my friend read over it. If I fail at anything, I totally blame him. (jk) **

Douglas woke up, covered in sweat and blood. He looked around. He was in a house made mostly of tin, with various medical equipment lying about in no organized fashion. He was in a white bed, though the sheets were wet from the amount of sweat that currently slivered off his skin. "Well I'll be damned, the boy is awake!" Said a voice. Douglas turned to look at the owner of the voice, and was met with an opposing site. He was a dark skinned man who wore a sheriff's hat and a brown duster with a beat-up badge on it. A scraggly beard was on his face and his brown eyes were studying Douglas with intent. "Church said you would be up for days. Suppose he's finally losing his edge." The man commented as he sat down.

"Who…." He was surprised when his voice was cracked and hoarse but forced himself to continue the question. "Who are you?"

"Name's Lucas Simms, town sheriff. Mayor too, when the need arises. But I feel that I should be the one asking that." He said as he introduced himself.

""My name is Douglas Darius. A pleasure to meet you. If you don't mind me asking, where am I?" the injured man replied as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

" Friendly AND well-mannered? I think we're going to get along just fine. As for your question, we're in Doc Church's place. Your friend dragged you here when you got three bullets in you. As for the town, this is Megaton. The friendliest town in the wastes, or so we program Deputy Weld to say. Most towns don't have a Moriarty to contend with." The man smiled as he told Douglas.

"Every town needs a designated asshole, Simms." Said unknown voice from behind him. Douglas looked over at another woman who was in the house with them. She was young, just possibly having reached the age of twenty or twenty-one. She had short brown hair and blue eyes that shone from across the room. He outfit was covered in blood as well, but he suspected that much of the blood wasn't hers. Her only wound was on her nose, which had a clear white bandage over the top. "Speaking of which, why am I not allowed out of this place so I can get drunk at said asshole's bar?"

"Because, I need to make sure whoever tried to kill you, won't come back to finish the job." He retorted to the woman, clearly annoyed with the repetition of the question. "You weren't being chased by Talon Company were you, boy?" Lucas directed the last part to Douglas.

"What's Talon Company?" He asked.  
"I guess that would be a no. Talon Company, are some of the worst people in the wastes. If you piss off the wrong people, before you know it, you'll have hit squads attacking you and your friends constantly till one of you is dead. What about slavers? They weren't after you, were they? This town don't need to deal with them either." The woman tensed up slightly at that but remained ignored by the sheriff.

"I thought slavery was illegal." He mentioned aloud. Slavers and this Talon Company? This was the wasteland.

"Boy, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were raised under a rock." Lucas laughed heartedly at Douglas' ignorance towards the wastelands most feared grouped.

"I technically was. I was raised in Vault 101." Douglas told him. Lucas stopped laughing and put on a grim smile. He remembered quite a few years ago when another man and woman had come from the Vault to Megaton. They didn't last very long though. And the last person had just ran into town for a few hours and ran off rather quick.

"Well, I welcome you to Megaton. I hope you'll stay longer than the last fella." Lucas greeted as he realized that these people were no longer a threat.

"Middle aged man? Looks like an older me?" Douglas interrogated as soon as he heard that. Lucas looked over the boy and realized that the similarities between the man and this boy were rather uncanny. Lucas nodded to the boy as he agreed with him. "Where did he go? Is he still here?"

"'Fraid I can only answer the second one. No, he left yesterday in a hurry. You should ask around town and see if anyone knows where he ended up." He informed Douglas. He turned towards the woman, and looked at her. "Your weapons are in my house. I'll fetch them for you." With that, Lucas Simms stepped from the hut and was gone. The woman sighed and looked Douglas.

"You and your girlfriend broke my nose you know." She told him. The first thing that hit Douglas was panic. _Where was Amata? Was she okay? _When he realized she was in the bed next to him, a wave of guilt hit him. He drug her from the vault and into a wasteland that her father repeatedly reminded everyone was a hell on earth. She was probably right when she said that her father's guards wouldn't shoot her, they were probably only going to shoot him. But he had grabbed her and ran without a second thought. He thought about taking her back to the vault, thinking that her father would actually let her back into the vault. But he remembered the Overseer's favorite saying. "You were born in the Vault. You'll die in the vault." He knew that her father, or possibly the new overseer, would not open the vault for her, even if they camped out on the door step. "You know, generally, an apology and a thank you are recommended for the situation." Douglas ignored her and looked for his duffel bag, which he found under the bed. Despite all the dangerous items being removed, everything was left inside. He reached in a found the holotape labeled Note From Dad. With an anticipated sigh, Douglas inserted the disk and listened.

_Hold on Jonas, I need to record this first. I…I don't really know how to tell you this. I hope you'll understand, but I know you might be angry. I thought about it for a long time, but in the end I decided it was best for you not to know. So many other things could have gone wrong and there's really no telling how the Overseer will react when he finds out. It's best if he can blame everything on me. Obviously you already know that I'm gone. It was something I needed to do. You're an adult now. You're ready to be on your own. Maybe someday things will change and we can see each other again. I can't tell you why I left or where I'm going. I don't want you to follow me. God knows life in the vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will be enough to keep me going._

_I don't mean to interrupt you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with._

_Okay. Go ahead. Goodbye. I love you._

The holotape clicked as the recording ended. The woman was watching him with a sympathetic eye. He didn't even notice Lucas Simms had reentered the house and was watching his reaction to the recording. He held a two different pistols and a bat in his hand. He set them on the table and apologized for intruding on the moment. With that he left. The woman stayed though, watching him. "So, your dad ran off and left you behind huh?" She asked after a long silence. Douglas did say anything but nodded. "That sucks kid." She finally stood up, grabbing a .44 magnum from the table, stuffing it into a hidden holster behind her back. She grabbed the 10mm pistol and tossed it towards him. "Come on kid."

"Where are we going?" he asked as he stood up. He realized he must have a lot of Med-X in his system because neither his arm nor his wounds hurt in the slightest.

"I'm gonna get drunk off my ass." She told him.

"What about Amata?"

"I'll get her drunk later."

"Is that an atomic bomb?" the kid asked as the panic leaked into his voice. Frank chuckled slightly at his reaction. She looked at the kid as he continued to shield his eyes, which had yet to adjust to such bright lights.

"Where do you think the name Megaton comes from?" She sarcastically asked as she stepped down onto the dirt.

"Who is dumb enough to build a town around a bomb?" he asked as he followed her.

"Best defense there is. Having an active atomic bomb in your town square tends to ward off attackers. A stray bullet or grenade and everything in the vicinity becomes nothing but a pile of irradiated ash. Most attackers avoid Megaton like a bad curse, thinking it would be safer to try their luck in the D.C. ruins." She told him as she began to walk straight to the saloon. She remembered where it was from last time, having gotten lost three times on the various catwalks. "How many caps you got on you kid?"

"Caps?" _Must be nice in a vault, not knowing Talon Company or Slavers or having to have caps to live. _She elaborated, explaining to him caps were the money here in Capital Wasteland. She also explained that some places were different, relying on paper money or coins. When she talked about the coins, she subconsciously began to rub the golden coin she kept in her pocket. By the time she finished, they were walking into Moriarty's saloon. The bar smelled heavily of piss, alcohol, and smoke. The kid coughed at the smell. Frank, having smelled far worse, waltzed over to the bar as the ghoul bartender senselessly beat the nearby radio as the local prostitute watched with a cocked eyebrow.

"Come on, you piece of junk." He growled in his gravelly voice. The kid stopped and got wide-eyed as he saw the ghoul. Frank imagined why. Ghouls were like the zombies out of old monster flicks. Their skin deteriorating away even though they were still alive and their feral relatives attacking anything that moves didn't help their public image much either. Most called them zombies and the ghouls responded with the word bigot. Frank never really cared much about ghouls or human hatred. When you get shot, everyone bled the same. This particular ghoul wore a white t-shirt, which was almost brown with the dirt from over the years, and a pair of pants that were old and tattered around the knees.

"I told ya Gob, it's not the radio. Galaxy News' signal has been shit lately." The prostitute answered after a puff from a cigarette. It was obvious to Frank that she was one. The seductive way she walked, the flirtatious tone that was always in her voice no matter the subject, and the look in her eyes that simply said she no longer gave a shit.

Ignoring what the prostitute said, the ghoul continued to beat on the radio trying to clear the staticy voice. The prostitute sighed and walked away, giving the kid a suggestive look before retreating to her own little space. "Hey barkeep. Two whiskeys for me and whatever the kid wants." Frank ordered as she sat at the bar. Gob produced two dirty bottles from beneath the counter and slid them over to where she sat, then he looked at the kid. When the kid failed to answer in a few seconds he asked:

"What do you want smoothskin?" he asked, expecting trouble from the kid.

"Oh….uh….give me moment to think." He said walking over. The surprise on the ghoul's face was obvious and Frank suppressed a smile. It was always funny when ghouls were surprised.

"Wait? You're not going to hit me? Not even berate me a little?" Gob asked.

"I hadn't planned on it, no." the kid replied in kind.

"Well, now that's a surprise. I'm used to every asshole smoothskin in this town giving me shit because I look like a corpse. Look, Moriarty'd have my head if he caught me selling at a discount but for you, I'll risk it." Gob said as a smile came across what remained of his lips.

"Thanks." The kid politely replied. Frank couldn't help but want to smack the kid for his manners. "Um, I'm not thirsty. But can you tell me, if you saw a middle-aged man, somewhere in his fifties, looks like an older me." Gob's face dropped a little and he scratched the back of his head. When he didn't answer, the kid obviously took that as it meant he did. "Gob, please, if you know anything, I need to know." The ghoul gave in.

"Alright, he did come through here, I didn't hear much though. I keep my head down because I tend to get smacked around by the customers. But he did talk to Moriarty. I heard Galaxy News tossed into the air a couple times but I can't say for certain. But, Moriarty has a terminal in the back. Keeps everything on it." The ghoul informed. With that, the ghoul glanced around like he had been spooked and walked over to the other side of the bar.

"Looks like you made a friend kid." Frank said when he sighed. "What's your name by the way?" Of course she knew his name from when he introduced himself to Simms but she just felt like doing the clichéd introductions.

"Douglas. Douglas Darius." He replied. "You?"

"Frank Sinatra." When a look of recognition did not pass over the kid's face, she felt slightly upset. "Come on, you don't know old Frankie? Bye Bye Blackbird?" She even went as far as to sing a few lyrics from the song before giving up. No one in D.C. ever understood herself given name. It almost lost the fun in having it. She left Douglas to his own thoughts, pulling out her flask and twisting off the lid. Once she emptied the contents of one of the bottles into the flask, she tucked it away in its spot before moving on to the other bottle.

Douglas on the other hand, sat there, wondering what could possibly be worse. The fact that he had no idea where his father was or the fact Amata was currently lying in bed with a gunshot wound. As he sat there and dwelled in his despair, he heard a psst! He looked up as a man with a white business suit and a black fedora beckoned him over to the corner. The shadow cast from his hat, in addition to his sunglasses made his face hard to see. He cast a sideways glance at Frank, who was too occupied trying to get drunk to care what he wanted. He stood up and wandered over to the man. The man smiled and set his cigar on a nearby ashtray, with the lit end hit the ground, beckoning him to sit in the chair next to him.

"My, my. Just when I had all but given up hope. My dear boy, I am very happy to make your acquaintance. I am Mister Burke. And you….well you are not a resident of this putrescent cesspool. That makes you a rather valuable individual." He told Douglas. Douglas felt uncomfortable, uneased by this man's voice.

"It does?" He asked.

"Very valuable indeed. See, I represent certain…..interests. And those interests view this town, this 'Megaton', as a blight on a burgeoning urban landscapes. You have no connections here. No interest in this cesspool's affairs or…fate." Douglas shifted as he said that last part. He liked this man less and less. "You could assist us in erasing this little accident off of the map."

"Wait….you're going to destroy the town?" Douglas asked surprised. He kept his voice low, though he wanted to call for help. His instincts told him that this Burke would not react kindly to this.

"The undetonated atomic bomb for which this town is named is very much alive. All it needs is a little motivation. I happen to have in my possession a Fusion Pulse Charge constructed for a single purpose – the detonation of that bomb. That is where you come in my dear boy. You'll rig it to the bomb. Then you'll be paid. Handsomely. What do you say?" Burke set a silver box like object on the table. It looked more like a battery pack than a pulse charge. Douglas wanted nothing more than to call out and exposed Burke's plans to the rest of the bar. However, something told him that calling out the man's plans would result in a shortened lifespan. Burke was watching him intently, monitoring his every action. In the end, Douglas decided to play along with the man's plan.

"Alright, I'll do it."

Lucas Simms checked on the girl again and found her still unconscious. He sighed and left the clinic, wandering what the arrival of the three strangers meant for his town. He knew that the woman was being chased by some sort of trouble, Stockholm having reported seeing her sprinting through Springvale in a hurry. As he pondered the over what that trouble could be, he saw the young boy approaching him with a panicked look. "What can I do for you?"

"Some guy, named Burke….. he said that he wanted me to blow up the town." He told him, shoving something in his direction. Lucas took the pulse charge with a look a horror on his face.

"He said what?!" Lucas said in surprise. He threw the pulse charge on the ground and stomped the heel of his boot onto the device. As the device was reduced to nothing but a heap of scrap and wire, Lucas's face was turned into one of pure anger. "I never did like the look of him! Let's go find this Burke character! You're about to get an education in wasteland justice." With that, he pulled his assault rifle from his back and sprinted off towards the saloon. Douglas took his pistol from his hip and ran after him, though he hoped that he wouldn't need it anymore.

Douglas came into the bar once more just as Simms put the barrel of the right in Mr. Burke's face. Mr. Burke face remained stoic and his body merely leaned back in chair. Frank looked back at him and gave him a raised eyebrow before returning to the conversation between the two people. "You there! Burke! Explain your business in Megaton!"

"I'm sorry. Sheriff, what are you hollering about?" Burke calmly asked. Douglas came up behind Simms, and caught the eye of Mr. Burke.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! The bomb! You're trying to blow it up! Have you lost your goddamn mind!?" The sheriff demanded to know from the man.

"Sheriff, I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding. Someone has surely been spreading rumors. I'll be sure to address the situation…." He turned and looked at Doulas before letting the next words slide out, a lot of venom attached. Douglas' grip tightened on his gun and for the first time since he got his hands on the pistol, he was glad he had it.

"I'm placing you under arrest, Burke. At least until I figure out what the hell's going on around here." Simms told him, waving his rifle as a hint to stand up.

"And I'M afraid that I won't be able to oblige your request sheriff. I have pressing matters to attend to." An angry glance was sent in Douglas' direction. "Now…step aside." The threat in his voice was obvious, and everyone in the bar was now watching the scene unfold. Simms's face filled with anger and he put the Chinese assault rifle so close to the man's face that it almost touched his skin.

"This isn't open for discussion."

"Why do you knuckle draggers insist on doing things the hard way? Very well, sheriff. Lead the way." Burke replied. Simms almost shot the man for his racist insult but held his fire and turned away angrily. Burke stood up and followed the sheriff until they reached the bar. That when Burke produced a gun from inside his suit and fired three shots directly into the sheriff's back. As the Sheriff fell to the floor, Burke turned and aimed the gun in Douglas' direction. Douglas was too shocked to react. He stared at the Sheriff's body, not believing that he just led the man to his death. He then looked at Burke, just as Burke's finger began to pull the trigger.

Suddenly his head exploded and showered Douglas with brain matter and blood. The bullet that had been fired at Douglas hit the tin just above his head, causing a bit of metal debris to hit him in the head. He looked over at who fired the shot and saw Frank sitting there, a .44 magnum in her hand with the barrel still smoking. "Welcome to the Wasteland kid."

_1 day later…_

Frank hid behind the saloon as the kid was hacking into Moriarty's terminal. They had talked to the man and he refused to give them anything without a bribe. The kid was all for giving away the caps his dad had left behind but Frank once more stepped in and refused to let him pay. She wondered why she kept helping this kid. First she drags him to this town to tend to his wounds which don't even exist somehow. Of course, he had no explanation for his rapid healing. Then she blows off this man's head as he was about to shoot him. However, she managed to pass this one off as self-preservation, sure the man was about to turn on the rest of the bar when he was done killing Douglas. Not that he would. He got three shots into the Sheriff and didn't even manage to kill him. Now, she was watching his back as he broke into Moriarty's terminal to find his dad. She shook her head, her thoughts as her chest began to tighten again.

She took a deep breath but only got half of the air she sucked in or so she thought. It had been a week since she took her last hit but she wanted to go longer. However, with her constant fighting of slavers and other wasteland dangers, she couldn't risk suffering from withdrawals. She glanced around and saw no one watching her too closely. Taking another deep breath, Frank reached into one of her many pockets and produced an inhaler. The medicine in the inhaler was replaced by a red painted tube, containing Jet. She put the opening of the container in her mouth and pressed the red tube down. The drug shot into her mouth, filling her with energy and causing the tightness in her chest to loosen. She leaned back and swallowed the drug filled gas. She leaned back as a smile came to her face before she could stop it. Then she was disgusted with herself for enjoying it so much. She tightened her grip on the Jet and threw it away from her, not caring where it landed.

"What was that?" the kid asked as he stepped from the back door of the saloon.

"Nothing." She said. "Where's your old man?"

"Someplace called Galaxy News. Guess Gob was right. Where is Galaxy News?" He asked.

"The worst possible place for someone in the Capital Wasteland. It's so full of super mutants and ghouls that they may as well rename it Mutantopolis." She smiled at her own joke even though she thought it was horrible. "You'll need a guide to get there without wandering into a mutant hive."

"What about you?"

"Hell no kid. I steer clear of D.C when I can. You are on your own this time." Frank denied. She'd been to GNR twice already, but not before she had killed almost a hundred mutants and receiving two bullet wounds as rewards. "But I will help you get enough money to hire someone. 400 caps aren't enough for you alone to fight your way into the ruins let alone your girlfriend. You'll need more for armor, weapons, ammo, and food."

"How do I get more…. caps? And why are you helping me?"

"Well, I burned through 75 of your caps when I got too drunk to pay. And since you bought me some food when I had the hangover, I owe you. Now let's go check that water treatment plant. I hear the old man there is having trouble."


End file.
